Step 14: Building a Background - Solid

We are going to create several backgrounds for our character - five over the next five steps to be exact- the first of which is a simple solid color with a shadow (see the graphic on the right). This is the easiest background to create...

1. Open the Cartoon file (be sure you are NOT working with any of the Progress files - once you have saved them do not open them again)
2. Select the color you want to fill the background with using the Set foreground color box - choose a color that will contrast well with your Catgirl and the shadow you will add in (you can use the same color as me, but I prefer you choose something you like; keep in mind that bolder colors that contrast with black will work best; avoid really bright or extremely dark colors as both will make it difficult to get a good view of Catgirl)
3. Select the Background layer - if you have done everything correctly up to this point you should have a background layer that is filled with white (if you do not have a good background layer any more, you can simply create a new layer behind everything and call it Background)
4. Use the Paint Bucket Tool (it's the button that looks like a paint bucket...convenient, huh?) and click anywhere in the background layer to turn the entire layer the color you have chosen
5. To create the shadow, select black as your foreground color and use the Airbrush tool (remember how to use that? - if not, go back to Step 10, directions 22-24 to review) to draw in the shadow (to make sure you get a nice soft shadow like the one in the image to the right and not a big black blob that looks like a hole Catgirl is about to fall into, set the Flow to around 10 or 20 or so and very gradually fill in the color) - don't worry about messing up anything as the background layer is behind everything else and thus won't affect anything but the background
6. As you fill in his shadow, take into account the light coming from the upper-left in the image and create a shadow that would occur under these lighting conditions

You will need to save this as a separate file so that you can return to your original Cartoon file and create the next background...

7. Click File
8. Click Save As... [be sure the Format: box reads: Photoshop (*.PSD;*.PDD)]
9. Surf to your Cartoon folder within your main folder
10. Go into the Background folder within your Cartoon folder
11. Name the file Solid (be sure you name it correctly - if you name it wrong you will loose points!)
12. Click Save
13. Close the Solid file
14. Remember NOT to work with this file in the future - it should be left with the solid background - when you move on to Step 15 you will need to open the Cartoon file back up and continue working with it

Now move on to the next step...